Nozomi's Wish
by RenaissanceGrrl
Summary: Just a tying up of the romantic loose ends I felt were in the game.


DISCLAIMER: I do not own Shenmue or any of its characters. Please don't sue.  
  
Authoress's Notes: I bought and played Shenmue on my Dreamcast and as a game I loved it. The battle system and magic weather and time were AWESOME. I was totally blown away. However, I thought the plotline lacked a little something emotionally on the part of poor Nozomi. I missed three "events", though, and I hear there's a sequel game, but I know nothing of them so this was just to resolve the story in my mind. Sorry if it contradicts anything.  
  
"Nozomi..."  
  
Nozomi sighed, hand pressed to the dining room window. Her grandmother was very caring, but sometimes caring turned into oppressive. Most people, Nozomi was convinced, would understand that she wanted her space.  
  
"Do you really need me now, Grandmother?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
"I was just thinking of going for a walk in Sakuragaoka Park."  
  
"Well..."  
  
"Please...?"  
  
Her grandmother sighed. "It might do you some good, child. You haven't been the same since that Hazuki boy left."  
  
Nozomi sighed again. That had been less than a week and already she was that changed. But then, how much the worse it would be if she were the same...!  
  
Nozomi pulled a denim jacket on over her sweater and briefly considered changing from her short plaid skirt into jeans to keep the cold air off her legs, but abandoned the idea for the sake of time.  
  
She could see the moon as she wandered the streets of Dobuita and Sakuragaoka even though it was still just twilight. The sun would be gone by the time she got to the park. *It'll be starry,* she thought, *just like the last time I saw Ryo there.*  
  
Ryo, or "that Hazuki boy," had left on a trip to Hong Kong. Something to do with his recently deceased father--Nozomi admitted to herself that she did not understand, and that Ryo had not wanted her to. What little she had known had gotten her into trouble enough--kidnapped by thugs just to lure Ryo into a trap.  
  
*But why?* she wondered. *Why wouldn't he trust me?* Nozomi's heart ached for her disappeared love.  
  
Not that he loved her. Or at least, he hadn't said so. She had confessed her feelings to him one night--in the very same park she was about to enter--but he had said he wasn't sure how he felt.  
  
Nozomi had thought it somewhat cruel for his generally sweet-tempered nature, but had let it go. If it was meant to be, he'd come around in time.  
  
Sometimes, mostly awake in bed at night, she allowed herself to dream about the day he would return. Of course, she had no idea when that would be, but that didn't matter. She knew he wouldn't be long. He'd left suddenly, he would return suddenly.  
  
Her dream was almost always the same. She'd be standing in front of the flower shop as usual, people-watching to pass the time, and he'd come around the corner, green backpack slung over his shoulder, and their eyes would lock and she'd run out into the street to meet him. He'd drop his bag and meet her halfway and they'd embrace and he'd kiss her cheek.  
  
"Nozomi, I have your answer now!" he'd say (hypothetically).  
  
She would pull back, look into his eyes, and whisper, "What is it?" And of course she would have tears well up in her eyes.  
  
"I love you. I always have. I just wanted to get things settled before I told you, because if anything had happened to me..."  
  
And she would cry and throw herself back into his arms, and he would finally kiss her. She had often wondered how he would do this since he was so much taller than she was, but he was smart. It would happen.  
  
She sat on a bench in the park and stared up at the stars. *I wonder where Ryo is right now, right this second...*  
  
Ryo Hazuki's eyes were on the stars as the cabdriver turned a corner. From the moment he got off the ship in Hong Kong until this very moment, his every thought had been bent on avenging his father's murder. But now he had only to wait while the cabdriver did the thinking and the work, so he had time to muse over other things.  
  
Tom. He'd returned to America the day before Ryo himself left Japan. Ryo had been rather sorry to see him go, but there was nothing to be done for it. Ryo wondered how Honey-san was. Honey was madly in love with Tom, but Tom never seemed to figure it out.  
  
That reminded Ryo of a subject he had been avoiding for a long, long time.  
  
Nozomi.  
  
*I bet she's in Canada by now. I hope she isn't wasting her money and Ine-san's time with long-distance calls.* It was a rather stoic way to think of her, but he didn't want to allow himself the luxury of thinking the way he wanted. Not until Lan Di was dead.  
  
What Ryo didn't know was that his leaving had given Nozomi the courage to call her dad in Vancouver and tell him she loved living in Japan and that she wanted to stay with her mother and grandmother, at least until she finished college. He said he'd come to Japan for a visit as soon as possible, then, but she should stay wherever she was happy.  
  
*Nozomi loves me,* he thought, rather abruptly. It wasn't like it was some big secret. She'd told him she did, and he'd asked for time to sort out his feelings.  
  
He really was confused about her. He *liked* her, yes, but that wasn't love and love was what she wanted.  
  
Or maybe he loved her. It wasn't like he had a lot of experience in that area. He'd never really had a girlfriend, devoting his time to more important things, like his lessons and practices in the Hazuki style.  
  
But then...he was expected to carry on the tradition, and pass the style down to his son.  
  
Which he would never have unless he got a wife.  
  
Which he would never have unless he got a girlfriend.  
  
And Nozomi...  
  
But what if it wasn't love, just infatuation? How could you tell?  
  
*I didn't call the police when she was kidnapped.*  
  
He mulled over that. He hadn't. He had told Ine-san he was leaving and ran out the door to rescue her.  
  
Without a second thought.  
  
Did that mean he loved her?  
  
*The only way you'll ever know if it's love or not is if you give her a chance.*  
  
Ryo shook his head, trying to clear it. Maybe that was true. And what could it hurt? He could be her boyfriend for a while, see if it worked out, and if it didn't...well, then, they could break up, right? Couples broke up all the time. It just happened, right?  
  
"Hey, bub, we're here. I got fares to catch...unless you want me to wait."  
  
"No, that's all right, how much..."  
  
One week later, Nozomi stood outside Aida Florist, watching the outdoor flower rack. There weren't many flowers that could stay outside in the cold, and the ones that could were precious. They couldn't risk someone walking off with a handful for free. She was watching the different people passing by. Some of them stopped to chat with her, but she really wasn't in the mood.  
  
She sighed a long, heavy sigh.  
  
"Cheer up, Nozomi! No one will buy flowers from a gloomy girl," her grandmother called.  
  
Nozomi bit her tongue. She willed the time to fly by until lunch, when her grandmother would let her go buy a burger at the corner stand. Anything to break up the endless standing, standing, standing.  
  
And then, something happened, but no one really noticed except Nozomi.  
  
Ryo suddenly appeared around the corner, running her way.  
  
It had been her habit to will him to come speak to her, always waiting on him, but today was different.  
  
"Ryo!" she called, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically for not being his girlfriend, but she no longer cared about that.  
  
He didn't slack his pace in getting to her. She took one step forward, to go to him, but he was there in front of her before she could even think.  
  
"Nozomi!" He let his backpack drop to the pavement. "Oh, Nozomi..."  
  
She stared up into his eyes. "I'm so glad you're back!"  
  
He smiled. "Let me...catch my breath. I ran all the way from the bus stop."  
  
She tilted her head in concern.  
  
"I had to see you. But then, I didn't know if you would be here. I thought you might be in Canada by now..."  
  
"I called Dad. I told him I want to stay here for college. He's going to come visit soon..."  
  
Ryo heaved a sigh in relief, smilingly lifting his face to the sky. "You're staying." He looked back at her. "For real?"  
  
She nodded, smiling too, but with confusion in her eyes.  
  
"I had to see you, Nozomi. I prayed I wouldn't be too late, because I have to tell you. I love you."  
  
Nozomi's mouth fell open. "Ryo...!"  
  
He bent down, hugged her tightly, and kissed her uncompromisingly. She drew in a breath in shock, but kissed back. When they finally broke for air, she stared up at him. "Ryo...what...when...?"  
  
He smiled at the irony, still holding her in his arms. "I went to Hong Kong searching for the man who murdered my father. I found him, and I avenged my father...but, Nozomi, it was very close. I...I don't know what happened...but I got to one point where he had beaten me so badly, and I was flat on the floor on my back, and I was just going to give up and let him kill me. To hell with it all."  
  
"Oh, Ryo..." she breathed.  
  
"But then...I don't know where it came from...I could see his dagger coming at me, aimed at my throat, and...I thought of you. And that gave me strength to roll out of the way, get up, and do what I had come to do. But, Nozomi, that's when I *knew*..." He bent and they kissed again.  
  
"I love you," he whispered in her ear.  
  
"Oh, Ryo..." she cuddled her face into his chest, "I love you, too."  
  
A/N: Sweet! ^_^ Please review. 


End file.
